Vincent Accardi of Brand New at the Observatory in Santa Ana Tuesday night. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER

The actual size of Brand New’s rabid fan base is as hard to gauge at this point in the Long Island quintet’s career as its relevance. Their last effort, 2009’s Daisy, debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard albums chart, yet four years later it feels like an entirely different music climate.

Three recent shows in Southern California – Sunday at the Troubadour in West Hollywood and Monday and Tuesday at the Observatory in Santa Ana – comprised the group’s first local gigs since Daisy’s release, and unsurprisingly they sold out almost immediately. In 2009, they headlined multiple dates at the Palladium, and probably could fill that venue again, but could they play bigger?

At least one thing about Brand New was apparent Tuesday night during a performance of its later albums (Monday’s set focused on earlier titles, Your Favorite Weapon and Deja Entendu): their fans are the most devoted you’re likely to ever come across.

At 6 p.m., an early door time for an opening set from the So So Glos at 7:30 and Brand New an hour after that, the parking lot was full, the line extended massively through it and people could be seen jogging to ensure places in line. During the show, there was no milling about; even the bar was mostly abandoned. All eyes were on the four-piece (expanded by a touring percussionist), which delivered earnest, mostly faithful renditions of arguably their most beloved album, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, as well as their best-selling disc, along with associated B-sides.

Outside during the latter album, a handful of Daisy detractors bonded over Brand New stories; beforehand, people could be overheard recounting their three-, four-, even five-hour drives. One man paid $300 for a ticket to the Troubadour.

Witnessing the band live, it makes sense. The band’s songs, more so on the first of Tuesday’s two featured works, are unflinching in their emotional honesty, cresting with passion and then receding dramatically into solitary, peaceful moments. If you were a teenager or at least young enough to feel like one when these albums came out, naturally they meant the world to you.

But there is also a reason Brand New hasn’t received the revivalist treatment. Their sound, an offspring of the emo movement, evolved into more screamo territory at the same time that many other bands took similar trajectories. To the casual admirer, that can leave what they do a little less special in 2013, except for the fact that they’re so good at it.

On Tuesday, songs that stood out were those that strayed from what so many fans love about them. “Archers” was a rare upbeat number, more rambling and Southern-fried than on record, its melodrama replaced by palpable joy exuding from the audience. Daisy began with the sample used on the album, providing a natural transition from one title to the other. That said, “Vices” landed like a punch to the stomach, its post-hardcore screaming a jarring change from the subtler, more nuanced earlier album.

Brand New easily could return for Coachella or plan a release for next year – or simply just indulge these short runs of shows for kicks. Whatever they decide, their devotees are practically foaming at the mouth in anticipation.

The So So Glos, from Brooklyn, opened with a loose set of punk-indebted rock easily misunderstood at first blush. The band, though plenty fun, is sincere in its songwriting, not identifying with pop-punk, as their sound suggests, but looking to older inspirations like the Kinks and the Clash for a roadmap.

But their infectious tunes and inviting personality might have to suffer through a Warped Tour en route to Weenie Roast, say, if everything works out right. Here, they were able to take a skeptical crowd, on hand for only one reason, and get them to clap along and enjoy the quartet’s subversive lyrical content. With an album just landing on Rolling Stone’s best of the year, their future is bright – and they now have a big Southern California show to add to their resumé.

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